Okay, as far as animated episodes go, especially ones that were made by fans - Double Rainboom had pretty standard animation, perhaps up to par to the original show's, but not really. It's definitely a better effort than most fan animators, although the animators of Snowdrop and the animator for AskCMC do an even better job - at least from my perspective. While the project was ambitious, it was incredibly lacking story/writing wise. It felt clumsy and all over the place. The premise of having Rainbow Dash drink the talent-enhancer potion might've still passed as an actual MLP episode, but they ended up jumping the shark & dropping the ball with the Powerpuff Girls cameo and the pointless references thrown about. Plus, the pacing was drawn out waaaaay too long for its own good. Visual comedy needs to be fast paced, but every moment of the episode just kept reminding me just how pretentious this project really was. I feel they could've planned it out a bit better, and while the way they exploit the animation is interesting and inventive, that's not the reason the brony fandom exists.

Yes, the show does have some grandiose animation. But what's a show with just epic animation and a bunch of memes blended together into a half-assed plot that's supposed to have a message that clearly doesn't fit in with the overall impact the episode had given?

I'm disappointed, to be honest. I didn't hate the episode, and it's still a better effort than Dawn's Dusk, or whatever the buck that one fanimation was called.

It's just sad because this project had such potential to work with, but it suffered due to poor pacing and a confused plot. FANSERVICE DOES NOT MAKE FOR AN ACTUAL PLOT YOU GUYS.

I'll admit though; the premise of the episode is actually kinda cool. I like the idea of having the mane six have their destinies changed and for Twilight to write her own magic in order to fix everything. The problem is the alicorn thing got introduced a little early and at the worst possible time. The first 14 minutes were fine, only the songs were incredibly grating (although I did sort of like the song where Twilight was being all mopey & emo) and should've just been saved for a two-parter episode instead. Heck, the episode would've much better with just the 'True, true friend" song or "Celestia's Ballad" - which was EPIC beyond all reason by the way - and if the Alicorn reveal would've been kept a secret by Hasbro. It would've made a much stronger impact. Not only that, but if the episode ended on a cliffhanger, where Twilight would have wings and Celestia would reveal that she's become a princess and everyone would gasp -- it'd be more intense and excite people a lot more.

Granted, the fanbase would also rage quit like it has been doing for the past several weeks since the episode's biggest moment was leaked onto the internet, but it'd still be better than having the episode just end with a coronation and cheesy ass girly speeches.

Jiminy Crickets. If they wanted to do the coronation, do it next season, particularly in a two-parter opener where Twilight has time to react and ask questions and work off the situation. Perhaps there might even be an oppuratunity to work in another threat into the midst. It wouldn't have to be Sombra or Chrysalis either, but maybe some form of dragon revolution going about, or a war - maybe Celestia's phoenix could fly in delivering the news to the princesses, and that'd be like Twilight's first test regarding politics.

That could've gone better. Not to say I didn't enjoy the songs and seeing Celestia or whatnot, but the princess coronation thing felt so rushed. Sure, things are looking fine at this point, but the ending where everyone's singing about how everything's gonna be just fine is just BEGGING for something terrible and threatening to come and destroy the kingdom.

I don't know. But really, I expected Twilight to at least be more questionable or skeptic towards the whole 'princess' title. It just came out of nowhere, and although we all knew it was coming, there wasn't much to make from the situation. It's like you win the lottery - but then you come to the conclusion that having so much money now, you have no idea what to do with it, people who know you are probably gonna try to get their share of the money, and once your name is announced in public, everyone else is gonna become an envious dick bag towards you. THERE IS NO CONSEQUENCE HERE. NO SECOND THOUGHTS. It's just like -- "Hey Twilight, you no longer have to be the socially awkward, adorkable, unicorn self that the fanbase got to love over the course of the series. You get to become a Hasbro product, designed as a role model for girls, because every girl wants to be a princess, right?"

I wouldn't mind so much, but -- Oh.
Oh, they spent WAY too much time with the songs, didn't they...

Irene's preferences are justifiable though, given she's more affiliated with nature and generally unfamiliar with tech related stuff (besides electric screwdrivers); plus, she can't carry stuff too heavy for very long, while regular or lazer guns just don't suit her tastes (for yet-to-be-explained reasons).
While Irene is better at handling magic, her experience is limited with them, so she only uses them as a last resort.

Magic is great to study, but not to use when you're a simple normal mobian civilian.
This is also why Martha will never be accepted in Hogwarts (assuming it even exists).

This episode turned out a lot different than how I expected, but I can't say for sure if those differences were actually beneficial to the subject at hand. I think it's great how the episode focused on developing both Twilight AND Rainbow Dash within the time given (also Spike, but that's a WHOLE 'nother episode). Rarity & Pinkie had some of the more entertaining scenes, while Fluttershy and Applejack got to share some space the background as well, however - the jokes were rather lacking and it slowed the episode down a lot. I did like Shining Armor's cameo - mainly because he actually ended up moving the plot forward instead of just hogging the extra character space. Cadence could've been better portrayed though; I dunno - she just feels kinda bland to me now. At least with Luna & Celestia, they have a TON of personality, while Cadence just poses as a generally nice (and patient - according to this episode), but still young princess pony. There aren't any flaws to exploit from her either, aside from maybe being pretty stupid for not giving Twilight a proper description on the games inspector.

I'll admit - the ending became very predictable in the second half, but it was worth getting to the ending anyway because in the end,Rainbow Dash learned a lesson and Twilight learned to deal with stress -- and also because it leaves a mini-subplot cliffhanger for those who haven't seen the Spike Pet-sitting episode. A possible secondary issue with the ending could be that it was a little too rewarding, plus the games inspector fuck-up wasn't truly resolved either. What, all she needed was an exaggerated story from a minor? It was a forced conclusion and probably needed to be executed better too. Heck, they could even throw in a bittersweet ending, cause then it would have a bigger impact on Dashie and an actual consequence to being so stressful over an unresolved childhood experience.

The reason this episode strikes me in the wrong way is that there wasn't much conflict to begin with, aside from maybe with Dash - as there was some focus on her. And with that said, that one conflict alone was mediocre given prior ones the characters had in the other seasons. It's probably the skeptic side in me coming out again, but when it comes to Dashie, she is flawed - but that's what makes her interesting. What doesn't help for her character though is that she ends up being rewarded for doing stupid or forceful things instead of facing the real consequences of her actions. I can think of a few exceptions:

In 'May the Best Pet Win!', Dash ends up getting herself into a dangerous situation as a result of being a show off and causing unnecessary stress towards the rest of the competitors in the race. It's also the reason why the rest of the pets abandon her - although Tank does come to help her out, mainly because he's loyal beyond belief - which also contributes to the fact why he became Rainbow's pet (as she is the Element of Loyalty, afterall).

Then there's Wonderbolt Academy, where - to the writer's credit - she suffered a lot. Like, it was almost ironic in a strange way. She ended up getting herself in trouble several times, discovered her new found friend was actually a bitch (but a complex one at that, like another Trixie), and realized the problems and issues with the Wonderbolt Academy as a whole. If the episode had ended with her quitting the academy (she technically does anyway), the moral would've been a lot stronger because Dash had to give up on a dream to preserve her honor. That's harsh, and given the fact she's the element of Loyalty, it's a great idea to work with. Instead, she gets rewarded her dream anyway at the expense of someone who kinda deserved it (although it's not a realistic resolution), naturally destroying the point of the episode from the ground up. On the other hand, the biggest plus to the ending would be that Dash was rewarded for going through so much suffering to come to the realization that she did. I only wish it was a different reward, or maybe Dash is okay with her choice because she doesn't need to be weighted by the pressures of her pursuits anymore-- I've ranted about the episode long enough.

In terms of today's episode, I'd say -- not bad, just generic at best. Kinda dragging and boring for the first & second half, but the little things that occur within the familiar story are what makes the viewing worth it. There are a lot of flaws though, so I think it sorta requires your patience, tolerance, and full attention to fully enjoy it.

Also, on another note -- wow! A claustrophobic pony! That's kinda interesting and unique to see in a kid's show. C:

I guess I'll have to come clean too. I wasn't able to update this week because I had issues with my tablet and got overrun with school work. It's a shame too, because I had already started the first two panels but the work went to waste in the end. I'll try to post a reply to the current question tomorrow to make up for lost time. It'll be a Monday, and I'm not usually that busy those days, so I should be good.